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Pumping on vacation

I'm on vacation for a week without my daughter. I've been pumping 3-4 times a day but already notice after just 3 days that my supply is goin down. As long as I keep the pumping going will the supply go back up once I start nursing her again when I go home?

Re: Pumping on vacation

How old is your baby? If she's under a year, pumping 3-4 times per day isn't enough; you should be aiming at a number more like 8-12. Some sort of rough approximation of how often your baby nurses, basically. And if your output is dropping, you add more sessions.

Re: Pumping on vacation

She's 7 months. When I'm at home I pump one breast in the morning and she feeds off of the other. I pump once at work and breast feed her when I get home around 6. Then I breast feed her at night before bed. He gets pumped milk at daycare and one bottle of formula. So I feel like what I'm doing on vacation is sort of mimicking our schedule but the supply just seems to be less. I'm hoping that when I get back home and she starts breast feeding again that the supply will go back up to meet the demand.

Re: Pumping on vacation

The pump just isn't as good at removing milk as the baby is, so when a mom relies on the pump exclusively, she's going to have to work a little harder to get the milk she needs. I'm sorry to tell you to wreck your vacation by hooking yourself up to the pump more often, but yeah... That's what I think you should do.

Re: Pumping on vacation

At seven months, most people's supply is well-regulated enough that they'll bounce back from a supply loss like you're describing (as long as they are pumping) when they get home and their baby's demand is there again. BUT... how far you let it drop will impact how long it takes to get it back when you get home, and it could be a long uphill battle, especially if you've ever had trouble keeping up with your baby's demand (which it sounds like you may have since you're partially supplementing). So, you're taking a risk. How big of a risk is hard to say.

I would also caution about not pumping enough while away from your baby to avoid plugged ducts, etc. But if your supply is already noticeably dropping, you may be past that danger. Are you having any trouble with full breasts or other signs like that??